Early and delayed suture adjustments after adjustable suture strabismus surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Innovation
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Adjustable sutures enhance strabismus surgery success rates.
• Optimal timing for postoperative suture adjustment remains debated.
• This study compares early (2-4h) versus delayed (24h) adjustment in adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare surgical outcomes and pain scores between early and delayed suture adjustment in adult strabismus surgery.
• To evaluate the impact of adjustment timing on postoperative alignment and success rates.

Main Methods:

• An open-label, prospective, randomized comparative study.
• Adult patients undergoing eye muscle surgery were randomized into early (2-4h) or delayed (24h) suture adjustment groups.
• Outcomes included pain scores, angles of misalignment (1 and 3 months), and success rate (3 months).

Main Results:

• Forty-five patients completed follow-up; baseline characteristics were comparable.
• Mean pain scores during adjustment did not differ significantly between groups.
• Postoperative alignment and success rates were comparable, though the early group showed a trend towards higher success (87.0% vs. 63.6%, P > 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Neither early nor delayed suture adjustment demonstrated a significant advantage in pain, alignment, or success rates.
• Further trials with varied time intervals and outcome measures (e.g., diplopia, stereopsis) are needed.
• Optimal timing for suture adjustment in strabismus surgery requires further investigation.